At least 19 confirmed dead in north China coal mine flood

BEIJING – The Associated Press

REUTERS Photo

Search teams have recovered the bodies of 19 Chinese coal miners killed when the shaft they were working in filled with water.

The official Xinhua News Agency’s update to the death toll on April 22 came as rescuers continue to work frantically to find two miners still missing. More than 600 rescuers have been working to pump water from the shaft and drill holes from the surface at the Jiangjiawan mine near the northern city of Datong.

A total of 247 miners were underground when water rushed into the shaft in the evening on April 19.

Of those, 223 people made it safely to the surface while three of those trapped were rescued and were recovering in hospital.